During Shark Week, June 27 - July 1, small business owners on Main Street are calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to close loopholes and strengthen their rules on payday lending–a predatory lending practice that saps their customers buying power.

On June 2, the CFPB released proposed rules to protect consumers from payday predators – but the document needs to be airtight to keep revenue in local economies, and it’s riddled with holes.

Since the CFPB started its rule-making process last March, the payday loan industry has extracted more than$10 billion from local communities, right out of the cash registers of the “Mom and Pop” shops and restaurants at the center of the local economy. Meanwhile,the industry has spent $13 million in political donations and in lobbying Congress against reasonable rules, silencing the voices of small business owners.

The member businesses of the Main Street Alliance are calling on the CFPB to stand up for their customers–the lifeblood of their businesses–and fix the leaks to keep families from drowning in the debt trap. We are asking our patrons, and members of the communities that keep local shops in business to submit comments to the CFPB about the extractive nature of payday lending and impact of payday lenders on the local economy.

“Every dollar that unscrupulous lenders rip from the pockets of unsuspecting borrowers is a dollar that could be spent at local shops and restaurants, or on home renovations and repairs,” says Marzett Hawkins, the owner of Integrity Hawk, a general contracting company in Columbus, Ohio. For small businesses to succeed, we need to retain the wealth of our communities and keep our customers from doing business with those that seek to rob them of their resources.

“While some states have shut down payday lending altogether, in most states the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acts as the first and last line of defense for borrowers,” says David Borris, the owner of Hel’s Kitchen Catering in Chicago. “That is why this proposed rule is so important in its potential to stem the tide of financial ruin for millions of local consumers throughout the country.”

“Offering a short-term solution to a financial problem, payday loan sharks sink their teeth into unsuspecting borrowers and trap them in a perpetual cycle of repayment. The promise of instant cash to meet the needs of families can quickly blossom into an entirely new source of financial angst,” says Andrew Lytle, the owner of Receptor Sound and Lighting in Lehigh Acres, Florida. “The CFPB must stand up to the lending industry and strengthen their proposed rules to rid Main Street of these apex predators.